


Be More Careful

by martianfever (orphan_account)



Category: Warcraft (2016), World of Warcraft
Genre: Character Death, M/M, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-10
Updated: 2016-12-10
Packaged: 2018-09-07 18:20:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8811268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/martianfever
Summary: What should have been an easy battle has quickly become a nightmare, forced to make a choice Khadgar chooses to save his friend and uses his last few moments to share a long kept secret.





	

Every little detail stands out. Each sound, even the quietest, reaches him as a cacophony. The swing of each axe and clubs is added to the already overwhelming amount of activity. And he hates it all. It’s almost too much for his mind to follow, the center of battle was never a place for him. His spells were the only things that ever made sense to him, and when he was standing apart from the battle it was easier to tell what was needed. 

But trouble had managed to find him on cliff he had been trying to help from. And his friend had arrived with it, doing his best to keep the orcs from rushing at him and sending him over the edge. For a few moments they had managed to fight their way through the bodies trying to press them closer to the edge, but the sheer numbers were starting to prove to be too much.

At first Khadgar had been flinging fire spells at the orcs, trying to get them to back away and give them some space to get themselves in a better spot. But he had gotten a little too carried away, and had almost burned the left side of Anduin’s face, which the man had pointed out with a growl. Since then the one Guardian Novitiate had been trying to keep his spells down to a smaller scale. 

A small part of him wished he had the Lion’s boomstick handy. More than once an orc had gotten too close, and it was only by redirecting a spell he was already muttering under his breath that he managed to keep them away. But more than anything he wished he was far away from here, locked away in a room full of books with nothing more than a quill and a piece of parchment for every new spell he came across. Here was filled with blood and guts and horror. It was never meant to be a place for someone who loved his books.

Every orc he killed had his gut clenching in protest, and more than once he caught himself hovering on the verge of nausea. The only reason he managed to keep pushing through it was standing behind him, relying on him to keep them alive. Without Anduin--- No. That was not a thought he could ever let enter his mind. It would only begin a descent into madness the mage wasn’t sure he could pull himself free of.

Eventually there was a long enough break in the orcs that he was able to create a quick shield around them, though it only protected their backs. It acted as a funnel, giving the warrior the chance to take their still approaching enemies down one at a time. Khadgar turned to look at his friend, chest heaving for air as he did. He felt drained and worn, almost like he was on the edge of breaking. But he couldn’t break. Breaking wouldn’t get them out of this.

Gritting his teeth, he forced a small amount of magic into his hands and sent a slight healing spell towards his friend. The man seemed to move more freely because of it, the bruises and shallow cuts he had managed to collect during the battle soothed by the gentle flow of magic. But the brief surge of magic drained Khadgar more than he thought it would and he stumbled slightly.

He must have made a sound, for Anduin turned to look at him, brows knitted together, the scars on his face standing out more than usual. Fear rushed through the mage, threatening to knock him off his feet as he met the warrior’s familiar grey-blue eyes. Shaking his head, he gestured back to the orcs trying to get through the narrow tunnel he had made, hoping the man would turn back to the fight. 

It was a moment before he did, and when he did it was almost a moment too late.

Steel scraped against steel, making the hair on Khadgar’s arm stand on end. He hated that sound, hated that every time he heard it it was usually followed by a friend dying. Lips pressed together in a thin, rather stubborn line, he promised himself he wouldn’t lose someone today. Couldn’t lose someone today. He only had one person left in the world. And that person was standing only a foot away, his sword little more than flashes of steel as it cut through orc after orc.

A world without Anduin.

It wasn’t something he could live with. 

The sound of a roar threatened to shatter the world around him, and Khadgar had to reach out to steady himself against the Lion of Stormwind. His hand pressed against his friend’s back, he hurriedly looked around trying to find the source of the sound. It was only when he heard the sound of feet hitting the ground to his right that he realized his shield hadn’t been high enough to keep out an orc trying to drop into their safe zone from the cliff above.

Face pale, he brought his hand up to cast a spell, but he didn’t have enough time to cast a spell, the orc was moving too quickly for him to form any words. He cried the warrior’s name sharply, his feet already moving to put himself between the charging orc and Anduin. Eyes closed, he turned his head away from the orc.

He heard the orc’s spear run him through before he felt it. The sound of bone crunching, followed by the sound of a wet squelch had the air leaving his lungs in horror. At first he felt like the spear had done nothing more than hit his side, leaving a bruise against his skin. And then the wetness and fire began to spread. Opening his eyes, he looked down at himself and let out a soft cry when he saw the spear sticking out of his side. 

The mage turned to look at the orc that had managed to run him through, but found a sword shoved through it’s skull. Suddenly he was falling to the ground, his legs refusing to hold him up any longer. Dust rose into the air as he hit the ground, and for one long moment he thought it might be more orcs closing in on them. His mind quickly shoved that fear aside as a hand appeared on his shoulder and started dragging him backwards.

He heard Anduin’s voice in the distance, the words little more than a roar in his ear. It took too long for Khadgar to realize what the older man was shouting at him. Gasping for air, he managed to get out a few words and found a little more energy to completely encircle them and two orcs in a blue shield. The warrior’s hand fell away from his shoulder as he moved to step between the fallen mage and the enraged green skinned monsters, and the mage found himself wishing the other had stayed.

Not that there was much point to it. 

Propping himself up against the shield, he brought his hand down to the tip of the spear. The point was dripping with his blood and as his fingers brushed over it it sent a wave of pain through him. Biting back a whimper of pain, he looked up at Anduin and stared hard at the man’s back. The rest of their troops had fallen, it was just them. It had to be. If it wasn’t, what he was about to do would only make his last few moments a living hell for them both.

Fingers coated in his blood, the warmth and stickiness of it almost made his mind snap, he started drawing designs into the dirt and rocks around him. The runes were easy enough, all it required was a few moments and a few pain filled moments. It was summoning the magic that was more difficult. Twice he found himself losing his concentration as Anduin’s rage filled shouts reached his ears.

Taking a deep shuddering breath, he closed his eyes and summoned the magic to him. He was close, so close to getting it when Anduin reappeared in front of him. He could feel the warrior’s desperation and fear rolling off of him in thick waves, and he had to swallow another noise of pain. Opening his eyes, he stared up at the older man and tried to breath normally, but all it did was make it harder to breath.

Forcing a smile to his face, he rested his head against the shield and pretended not to see the orcs waiting for the magic to disappear. “You,” Khadgar’s voice broke off and he coughed hard. Blood gushed into his mouth, coating his tongue with the taste of lead and death. Gagging, he slid down and turned his head to spit the blood out onto the ground. Gasping for breath, he reached out for his friend’s arm and held onto it tightly. “Need to be more careful, Lothar.”

“Careful, my ass.” The man snapped back, his fingers digging into the front of Khadgar’s robes. “What did you think you were doing?”

It was too much, thinking about both his friend and the magic he was supposed to be gathering. Khadgar’s mind was starting to shut down. Closing his eyes, he focused for a moment on the magic hovering just outside of his reach. It was ready and waiting for him, and he gave himself a moment to let himself give into the cool relief sweeping through him. It almost got his mind off of the fire spreading through his belly and chest.

Opening his eyes again, he took as deep a breath as he could, and nearly choked on the air when he realized just how painful breathing was. Releasing the breath, his smile grew ever so slightly. “I was protecting the man I love.” 

His answer was straightforward and honest, after months of hiding the truth it was finally out there. The man just wished it hadn’t come out like this. His smile broke and he fought back a sob of pain and terror. Death was waiting for him, he knew it was. Already his vision and hearing were starting to go. It wasn’t peaceful like he thought it would be. He had expected darkness and silence, but instead he was seeing red and the never ending sounds of battle.

Gasping, Khadgar’s fingers tightened around the piece of armour he was holding onto. “I love you. I love you and I’m sorry.”

He could see the misery in his friend’s eyes, could see the words being echoed back silently. Trying to smile again, he brought his hand up and gently cupped Anduin’s cheek. “I love you,” the mage whispered, repeating it again for a third time with a sense of finality that he knew the other man would catch onto. 

The mage’s eyes closed as Anduin opened his mouth to reply, he didn’t want to know what the other said in case it wasn’t what he wanted to hear, and he quickly brought his hand down to finish the teleportation spell. With the spell complete it only took a single thought to send his friend away, the runes having been adjusted to give the spell only enough power for one person.

Khadgar opened his eyes the moment he knew Anduin was gone. Staring across the now mostly empty space of his shield the mage allowed a single tear and a sob. A world without Anduin wasn’t one he could ever imagine, nor would it be one he’d ever have to imagine. For that, he was grateful. 

As his shield started to flicker, he knew the moment was coming. Taking one last deep breath, he released the magic and closed his eyes as he fell backwards. The overwhelming roar of victory of the orcs was the last thing he heard, but he hardly heard it. Instead he let his thoughts rest on the way Anduin had looked the night before when they were curled up in the library together. 

He was smiling by the time the leader of the orcs reached him, and as the orc bent over to grab him and claim his death as his own, everything finally went red and the mage slipped into the peace he had been hoping for.


End file.
